|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2022 4:53 pm
If Larimar was going to be honest with zemself -- which, to be perfectly fair, was not something ze was entirely given to doing with any particular frequency -- there were some connections ze'd drastically procrastinated on reestablishing after zyr unfortunate return to Destiny City. Civilian-side all of that was basically taken care of, had been taken care of; these were people ze'd known for a couple of years yet.
The thing was - those were practical connections. Although, arguably, Ashanite and the entire rest of zyr team in the Negaverse were equally practical.
How much hemming and hawing could one person do before ze admitted ze was putting off sending that message, those messages? A few months' worth, clearly, since that was the point it was at now. And maybe a few months could be excused, but any longer of a wait and it'd start getting really ******** awkward if it turned out he was still alive and the two of them ever ran into each other.
So. That was how Larimar had gotten here: sitting on top of an office building where (ideally) nobody would bother zem, or at least ze'd feel and see them coming, with zyr tablet out on one knee. What to say? What to say...?
Ah, ******** it, it was Ashanite. Historically he'd been great with zem being the bitchiest little asshat in the vicinity, or at least tolerant of that behavior, so there was no need to pretend ze felt otherwise or had majorly changed as a person in the meantime.
Message to General Ashanite: hey. it's larimar back in town if this message doesn't get a reply in 24 hrs i'm assuming you're super dead and ******** off to get a new general, rip
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2022 9:11 pm
Regathering his team after his return to Destiny City had been a thing of great importance to Ashanite. Leifite was still there. Lapis Lazuli was lost. Wavellite and Xenia were inseparable, which was certainly convenient for him.
Larimar was the missing piece--reports indicated ze'd left Destiny City, but little else, and it was hard for Ashanite to be sure what had happened beyond that. Unlikely anything too terrible, unless the entire leaving had been a front for a very different decision. Hard to guess at, though--and he'd been looking for signs that Larimar might have returned, but the closest he got was seeing a database entry pop up with zyr name on it. That had been a pleasant surprise.
The message on his tablet made Ashanite perk up, and he opened it to read, and a grin crossed his face. Ah, there ze was.
Message to Captain Larimar Welcome back. Not dead. Sort of a near thing, but unfortunately for you, I'm still kicking. We can talk in my office. I'll summon you here.
He waited for a response before doing so, because that was only polite.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2022 1:35 pm
That reply had been considerably faster than Larimar was expecting; faster than most people texted back, even. So - not only was Ashanite alive, then, but he was active, and feeling well enough to play that game right back at zem.
...It was surprising how much of a relief that was, to know he was alive and active, if not necessarily fine -- ze knew Ashanite had never exactly been the perfect pinnacle of mental stability, which was overrated anyways, so 'fine' was a useless kind of word. The emotion it invoked was far stronger than expected. When so much else had changed, it had almost felt like a risk to fall back into that old casualness, but it was comfortable. There was that ease that came with being Larimar, to some degree. It always felt safer. (It always felt truer.)
Message to General Ashanite unfortunately for me i'm back in town anyways hard 2 make it worse not doing anything so i'm good whenever
Nice of him to not go for an immediate summon, at least.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2022 1:21 am
Once he had his answer, Ashanite summoned Larimar to his office, where he was seated in his desk chair, turned sideways and leaning on the desk itself. It--and the office itself--would look quite familiar to Larimar; the same desk, a bookshelf that had been there since Ashanite got the place, a couch, some armchairs. He'd done little to modify or overdecorate the place since his return from Russia, or perhaps even earlier.
The office served his needs. It didn't need to be more than it was.
"Good to see you alive and well, Captain," Ashanite said, "and I'm so glad you haven't gained a single ounce more respect for me in your time away."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2022 8:09 am
"If I was nice to you, you wouldn't know what to do with me," Larimar fired off in return on instinct, in flat deadpan, taking this time to look around the room. It hadn't changed, thank ******** god; Ashanite taking up an interest in interior decorating or wall art wasn't entirely out of the question, but ze wouldn't have been prepared for it, and it would've been a mildly-embarrassing loss of composure. At least this way ze could --
"You got a shirt," Larimar said, belatedly, once ze really looked at Ashanite and that finally penetrated through to zyr brain, and then; "thank god, but unfortunately for me I'm assuming you're still a whore."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2022 3:43 pm
Ashanite snorted, fondly. The easy repartee was something that had definitely been missing--Leifite and Wavellite's barbs were different, though no less comforting in their way. He knew there were plenty of Generals who would be objectively and utterly scandalized by the disrespect he tolerated, but he didn't care. His team functioned.
.....Mostly.
"It's true, I wouldn't," he acknowledged.
The surprise mad him "hm." He glanced down--yes, that had happened, though it had felt like the least important of the changes occurring.
"I mentioned almost dying. This was one of the results. Can't guess why, but stranger things have happened in the Rift, and given the circumstances I climbed out of, I'm honestly just glad I'm still human. But yes, I do still enjoy sleeping around." He shrugged. "I have to get my entertainment somehow. What have you been up to, then, Captain?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2022 7:29 pm
Ze shrugged -- well, that was expected, kind of. Resilient b*****d that he was. If Ashanite had died, Larimar would've pulled him out of his damn grave with zyr own hands to yell at him for dying, but that sounded almost disgustingly tender. Made it sound like ze liked him. So: god, no, ze wasn't about to tell him that. If it ever stopped being an unspoken thing it'd get rotten, so that whole set of emotions got to sit in implication.
"Went to college." Larimar shrugged, played it off like it was nothing, but it was clear anyway that this was -- something sensitive. Something important to zem. "In Cincinnati. Got a good scholarship for it, too; I was mostly through a BFA before I got dragged back here - on protest, let me ******** add - because one of my great-aunts died, and apparently that meant I'm stuck here for who knows how long. Probably forever. They don't offer the program I was in at DCU, anyway, so it means basically ******** except for some credit transfers."
Ze said 'probably forever' as a joke, tossing it out into the world lightly, but it still hurt to think about. The odds of everything - being able to resume what ze wanted, how ze wanted, in a place where nobody knew zem and there were less preconceived notions, without those skills atrophying and rusting - those odds were miniscule.
It helped, taking it out on the unsuspecting populace. They were all inherently kind of complicit in the whole ******** thing, weren't they?
"Besides that, stabbed a couple of people. Like you said. I've got to get my entertainment somehow."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2022 4:11 am
The answer to where Larimar had been made Ashanite's expression dip into a deep frown. It was obvious that Larimar was upset--and who wouldn't be, having their dreams derailed out of thin air? Ashanite had given up on having much of a civilian life--Damian Howe was a pretty fiction who mostly existed for convenient DoorDash orders and martial arts classes--but what little he had, he would be quite upset to have taken from him.
"No way you could set up online classes, or is it the kind of program that doesn't work for those?" A BFA could be any number of things, and Ashanite couldn't help but remember where he'd first found Larimar--in the upper catwalks of a theater.
No, he supposed there probably weren't online classes for a good program for that.
He exhaled.
"As long as the people getting stabbed are mostly on the other side," not all, Ashanite knew not to ask for the moon, "and you're careful about any...hm. Accidental civilian casualties," he raised his eyebrows, "I don't see any reason why you can't keep entertaining yourself that way."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2022 8:30 pm
"Online classes wouldn't work for a variety of reasons," Larimar said, as flippantly as possible (and it was almost convincing! ze'd spent time trying to numb the raw pain of that wound), "and even if they could they wouldn't be the hands-on experience that makes any of it worthwhile! So it's - " Ze shrugged, a slow, languid movement - "it's whatever. We're not here so I can interview you for a Social Sciences credit."
A long, held, pause, then, as ze raised zyr eyebrows right back at Ashanite. "So... when you say 'accidental'. How are we defining 'accidental' here? Collateral damage? Deaths not required in the grand scheme of things, but fun anyways? Clarify for me."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2022 2:43 am
Ashanite nodded, and let the subject of LArimar's degree lie. It wasn't fair, certainly, but--sometimes the world was simply not fair, and there was nothing you could do to fix it. He would simply have to work to put Larimar's talents to use for the Negaverse, as best as possible, so at least zyr forced return to Destiny City wouldn't be a total ware.
Besides, Larimar took to the Negaverse well. With zem back, Ashanite hoped that ze might stand beside him as a General, before too long. He could only hope, at least.
"I would prefer that you don't get caught," Ashanite said, "so as long as you have a relatively plausible excuse...." He shrugged his shoulders. "People get caught in the crossfire. Starseeds are required for the grander mission. Sacrifices must be made, et cetera."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2022 6:14 pm
"Imagine," Larimar drawled, apparently back to full strength of snark, "that I'm writing this down, so I can confer with your wisdom on the subject as needed if I ever get called out on it." Ze shifted a little from foot to foot, redistributing weight, standing a little more evenly. There was nothing to be gained and everything to be lost by griping; god ******** forbid anyone in this room ever show real emotional vulnerability.
Frankly, ze wasn't sure what ze'd do if Ashanite showed genuine emotional vulnerability. Laugh, probably. And then check if he was dying? It wasn't a scenario Larimar had given a lot of thought to.
"Any important changes in the city or the Negaverse I should know about, before I run into them firsthand and ******** embarrass myself?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2022 2:10 am
Ashanite rolled his eyes, but there was an almost fond edge to his expression. Certainly he'd never say it, not least because having a whole genuine feeling in the Negaverse was a danger--Xenotime and Umber had taught him that lesson well--but there was something almost familial about this.
"The most significant change is that we have some very...unique new allies." And here, Ashanite grinned, smug and proud. "Velencians. Actual outer space aliens. To tell you the truth, I didn't believe anyone still existed out there. I've seen Wonders and planets--they're all dead. But somehow, these pastel elves have kept on going, for a thousand years. They're here on Earth now, and tolerated by the grace of our Queen for the technology they give us. So try and treat them as decently as you would any other ally."
...Well. Perhaps that wasn't the right example.
"Ah, and." Ashanite frowned. "Lapis Lazuli has turned traitor. If you find the Knight he's turned into, make sure you bring him to me. I owe him a pulled starseed, you see."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2022 7:49 pm
Ze raised one eyebrow, very pointedly, and held it there for several beats. "Space elves. Pastel space elves. ...Sure." It wasn't that odd, if one took everything else about everything else into account, but taken by itself it was still a ******** oddity. "So, better than I treat everyone else, or they'll cry about it?"
With Larimar's luck as of late, if ze was mean to one space elf, that one would cry wolf (space wolf?) and talk to someone who'd actually reprimand zem for it all. Aliens these days. No respect for a little hazing and disrespect, probably.
Lapis turning traitor - that was easy for Larimar to file away for later, to call up a memory and remember face and voice, when it was a positive memory. Ze'd never much liked him, anyway, even moreso than that typical distaste for all the people of the world; something about his bearing - it'd gotten on zyr nerves every time. Easy as breathing, to want to bully him until he cried.
Him turning traitor was an excuse to act on that further. But an excuse was an excuse, and ze wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. "I'll keep it in mind." It came out dismissive, but that was as much part of the play as anything else.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 16, 2022 2:39 pm
"In essence," Ashanite acknowledged, with a sigh and a half-grin. "I'd prefer not to have to make excuses for my Captain bullying the poor aliens. Makes diplomatic relations awkward, et cetera. So, best behavior."
As funny as it would be to watch Larimar go all in on one of the precious Cadets, Ashanite remembered what Lyndin had been capable of at the battle on the hill. He also did not fancy punching out of his weight class--it didn't happen often, and he definitely would be if it came down to a fight, verbal or physical, with the powerful and also massive Commodore.
"Anything else you need, Captain?" He trusted Larimar to at least be capable of hauling Lapis to him personally, after ze extracted whatever revenge or simple amused bullying ze wanted from him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 24, 2022 11:17 am
It was such a pain. Hopefully the aliens understood things like sarcasm and deadpan, because frankly, at this point Larimar didn't think ze could turn zyrs off all the way. Then again, who knew what they'd ******** know? Either that was irrelevant, or Larimar was going to pretend it was irrelevant and claim ignorance when inevitably something did happen, because 'best behavior' was a state with a lot of variables.
But as much as ze hated to admit it out loud, ever, ze did generally follow Ashanite's orders, albeit with some creative interpretation of the details. If he said no ******** with the space elves, there wouldn't be any intentional ******** with the space elves, but Larimar had sort of discarded the finer parts of persuasive charisma a few years ago and hadn't looked back. Being a sycophant was so ******** exhausting, so ze'd stopped.
"Leifite and Wavellite. Are those two still around, doing..." ze wiggled some fingers, ambigously, carelessly, "whatever they do?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
